Wednesday the House committee approved changes that would not immediately cut books and fees from the scholarship.
Receipts from the lottery so far this year show better than expected sales. This has lessened many lawmakers' fears that the program would soon cost more than the lottery takes in.
For now, recipients of the Hope Scholarship will get to hold onto their books and avoid paying fees. Wednesday morning, a House committee approved cuts to the Hope, but the cuts are significantly lighter than originally planned because of better than expected lottery sales.
This comes after a separate House vote to put a standardized grading system into effect throughout Georgia's k-12 schools, making it easier for students to be ranked and awarded the Hope.
Technical colleges throughout the state do follow a standardized grading system. Students say it helps to know how they're ranked and they wish they would have had this opportunity earlier on.
Although the Hope has been watered down by budget cuts over the years, educators say many of their students depend on what's left of it to get their degree.
"That benefits our students, it benefits our businesses and our local economy so we're hoping the House will pass those new options," says Lorette Hoover.
Wednesday’s vote also does not bar people with bachelor's degrees from using the technical college grants. What will happen if the House decides to pass this bill and lottery sales drop anyway, is books would be cut, but fee allowances would be frozen at current levels.
